Absorbent articles such as diapers, training pants, incontinence garments, swim undergarments, and the like conventionally include a liquid permeable body-facing liner, a liquid impermeable outer cover, and an absorbent core. The absorbent core is typically located in between the outer cover and the liner for taking in and retaining liquids (e.g., urine) exuded by the wearer.
In some of these absorbent articles, the articles contain various elastic materials to permit some expansion of the article when necessary to provide a better fit on the wearer. The article is subjected to forces such as those generated by loading of the absorbent article and movement of the wearer during use of the article. The elastic members are also designed to contract when being worn in order to provide the article with form-fitting properties at least in some areas.
When a single piece outer cover is utilized to construct the garment, the front leg area is often subjected to forces that result in this area becoming overly tensioned (e.g., too tight and over stretched), which can result in a poor fit in this area. Adding more material to the outer cover in the front leg area, in an attempt to relieve this tension, results in a baggy fit in the pant which does not look discrete or garment like. Similarly, increasing the size of the leg opening results in less coverage and/or does not relieve the tension and may increase the propensity of the article to leak fluids through the leg opening.
In this regard, improvements are needed in constructing absorbent articles that have form-fitting properties. In particular, a need exists for an absorbent article that has reduced tension in the front leg area, particularly in the front leg area of an absorbent article.